Circumstances compelled me to upgrade by July 1 so now I have this iPhone. I knew what it would do but I am completely impressed. I was hoping that it would not be yet one more computer screen I have to stare at and actually it is cutting down on my computer time.

1) I can delete more junk mail faster on the phone than a computer. 2) The voice calls is as slick as I thought. No more have to listen to all my non deleted voice mails to get to the one I want to hear.3) I already have four pages of free apps and none of them are games. Great stuff.

So what is your favorite must have app on your iPhone? There are too many to chose from.

Pretty amazing. I got the phone about an hour before I jumped on a plane to DC so I didn't have the manual. Took me a while to figure out all I have to do is hit the "find me" button twice and it will kick the compass into gear.

A new hotel and I had time to kill so I walked down to the National Mall. One would think with all these landmarks sticking out you could not lose where north was but I missed my street. By using the map and compass it was too easy.

The real problem will be relying on this thing. I did that a lot the first time I went into the woods with a GPS. If you are looking down at some Gizmo and not paying attention you can still get screwed up. Because I was not keeping track of how trails met I was confused about which one to take on the way back off the mountain. If the batteries died I would have really been screwed. I always now take a map and compass.

I will try not to make the same mistake with this phone although it is very tempting to let it do everything. It found a good lunch for me and had wiki pages of every monument I stood in front of.

ps. Completely unimpressed with the World War II Memorial. Just a waste of granite. Nice fountain but the whole thing didn't do it for me. The bas reliefs were a joke and there is caulk in between the granite. Who made this thing? A hundred years from now it is not going to fit. It was a great War fought for a noble purpose. I get none of that from the quotes or the architecture. With George W Bush's name emblazoned on the entrance people will remember why.

Thanks, a good read. I have some of these already, at least the free ones.

Next flight might seem like a good idea but when I miss a flight I have the 800 numbers of every airlines which I call while in line. Talking to a human always gets me the best flight.

UrbanSpoon is great. I even like using it in areas I think I know all the restaurants to try something different.

WeatherBug seems to be the cat's meow for weather apps. Radar and nice forecast and present conditions.

Google Earth. Amazing.

Room. Waitaminut. I need a separate app to remember my hotel room? Don't think so. I wrote it in my "notes" as I checked in. Really as long as I say it out loud three times I won't forget except the hotel last week did throw me a curve. It turns out it has a north and a south lobby that are identical. I walked in the wrong one and could not find my room. They really need to add a big plant to one of the lobbies.

Writeroom. I need something more than notes. This might be it.

Packing. An app to make a list for packing? A little OCD. I now go minimal. I carry one small carry on with my MBA, a couple pair of underwear and maybe one extra shirt. Socks in winter. Takes me about 9 seconds to pack.

But as of this week I am officially a stay at home curmudgeon. I might not have to get on another plane until next February. Yes!

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